Padilla in Pittsburgh, Kershaw at the home opener…

Word is out now, but in case you check here before anywhere else, Vicente Padilla will start us off in Pittsburgh on April 5 and Clayton Kershaw will be the starter at the home opener on April 13 against the D’backs.

Joe Torre’s reasoning: “We just decided to line them up that way.”

That means the second game will be Kershaw in Pittsburgh, then Billingsley and then Kuroda.

More from Joe: “We have 4 guys you could put their names in a hat. I had no problem with Clayton starting the Home Opener.”

Meanwhile, if you didn’t see the Dodgers Media Network piece on Clayton and his boyhood friend, Matthew Stafford, check it out here.

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54 Comments

Brilliant surprise on Joe’s part! Lead with the unexpected.
We may even see Johnson in LF and Anderson in center, and, of course, Carroll at second. The Pirates will surely be unprepared for such a move.

I, of course, don’t have anything against Padilla. We need him to pitch like a #1 starter in order to bring this season off.

And maybe Frank and Jamie can sit together in the owners box on opening day at DS.

I like it! The vet on the road and the kid at home! I am so looking forward to Opening Day at Dodger Stadium! I’ll be there with bells on! lol. Is going to be hard to work on that day since I can’t listen to anything at work but I can read so I’ll be looking for game threads!
Emmahttp://crzblue.mlblogs.com

I always thought that being opening day starter wherever you open was an honor generally bestowed upon (A) being the staff ace, (B) Having been longest service record with the team, or (C) Be deserving of the assignment by pitching head and shoulders above the rest in ST.

I am not reading too much into the starter but I am glad that I get to see Kershaw at home!
Is going to be a great home opener! I can feel it! I was remembering when Fernando started the home opener in 1981. I still have my ticket (first game as a season ticket holder) from that opener.
Emmahttp://crzblue.mlblogs.com

enchanted – You need to tell your boss you need some time off or if you can’t get time off, at least ask for a raise. However, let me remind you, you are your own boss. BTW- the sentence was all good – LOL!!!

OBF,
Back then, they gave us special ticket for the Opener.
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When they had the 1980 decade luncheon celebration, i was going to have Fernando sign it. I was inline for the guys to sign different stuff (old Union 76 pictures from back then) then just a couple of feet away, Fernando gets up and leaves. We were told that he was leaving to prepare for the night game. BUT Monday was still there and he had to broadcast at night too! I gave it to Ron Cey to sign instead.

I’m happy with Kershaw getting the home start. I’m happy for Padilla too, even he sounded surprised at getting the Opening Day start.

Guess the only reasons the others might not have gotten it might be they wanted Kershaw to start at home (Torre mentioned it as a possibility back at the beginning of Spring Training), they don’t want to pressure Billingsley (if he’s stronger than last year, I think he could’ve handled it), and even with the strong 5.1 inning start last night, they might still be concerned with Kuroda’s consistency (I think he has the potential to have the best year he’s had with the club this season).

With Padilla, I’m sure Torre’s remembering his strong performance last October (until the last one). With all the talk of L.A. only having #2-5’s on their team throughout the media and ‘net, not sure any one pitcher could’ve impressed everybody / disappoint nobody around the news/’net.

Looking forward to that game in Pittsburgh. They’re starting Zack Duke, and I like our chances.

SDT,
Oh I remember so well that Opening day in 2004 where Nomo got pounded! My friends and I sat in the right field pavilion that day. That was the day we met the guy Pinto that sits around there. Everyone knows Pinto. I’ve run into him at the phone booth park.
Emmahttp://crzblue.mlblogs.com

Obviously Padilla could not control his excitement at being named opening day pitcher and lost his concentration today. It happens.

Seriously, I don’t see anything wrong with setting things up for Kershaw to start the home opener. The weather should be better and he will already have a game under his belt. These guys all know what they need to do. No one on this staff “deserves” anything and I don’t think Joe’s choice has anything to do with lack of respect for anyone on this staff. I am sure he is hoping for the same thing we all hope: Bills gets it together, Kershaw continues to develope into the dominating pitcher we all think he can be and everyone stays healthy. The offense has to do its part and take some of the pressure off the pitching staff by driving in runs and limiting leaving guys on base in scoring position.

Happy Birthday, OBF!!!!…. I don’t have any problem with Padilla as the Opening Day starter. I realize that there’s a certain amount of ceremony and cachet to the Opening Day start and it’s usually reserved for a staff ace but we don’t really have a clear cut ace at this point. Someone on Dodger Thoughts made the point that Torre may be trying to give Padilla a vote of confidence by giving him the start. There might be some truth in that. Bottom line, it’s 1 of 162 and, as long as we win, who cares who pitches. GO DODGERS!!!!!

This will work well in my opinion. Padilla needs to establish himself in this rotation righ away. Billingsley, Kuroda, and Kershaw could have all started the 1st game, but Torre is taking the pressure off of them, and the white-hot game 1 spotlight. Padilla is not going to be affected like the other starters would in a game 1 situation. Torre is doing a very smart thing here, and managing his pitching staff from game one. No regrets… Let’s get this season going.

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